1. Students should check their university portals to make sure that there are no notices or messages regarding the application that has been submitted. There may be messages about something missing from your application, interview dates (if the university offers it), requests for additional information, etc. It is important that students regularly check their portals to see if the university has communicated with them.
2. Students should regularly check the email account that they have listed in their applications and open any emails that they receive from the universities.
3. If you have not filed the FAFSA and plan to seek need-based financial aid, it is important you do so immediately.
4. If you have applied to a CSS Profile university, please make sure you complete the CSS Profile.
5. If your financial circumstances have changed since the pandemic began or since the relevant year’s taxes were filed, it is important that you reach out to the financial aid office of each university that you have applied to and find out how you can submit information about your current finances or change in circumstances. You want to start this process early so that the financial aid office can help address your financial needs prior to the May 1st acceptance deadline.
6. If you are planning on applying for scholarships, then fill out the applications and write the needed essays. Look for local scholarship opportunities since the pool of candidates is limited thereby offering a better chance of getting them.
7. If you have asked for letters of recommendation from the counselor, the teachers, and coaches, take time to thank them for the time and effort they took to write the letters on your behalf.
8. Students should not let their grades falter. You need to make sure that you continue to do well in all of your classes. Universities have been known to rescind offers to students who have let their grades slip.
9. Do you know how to do laundry? Cook? This might be a good time to get started on some of these basic life skills. Learn how to cook since it will come in handy in the coming years.
10. Learn basic finance skills so that you can handle money when you are on your own. You need to know how to use an ATM, read your bank statement, create a budget, and learn how to live within the budget you have created.
11. When you start receiving offers of admission, take time to evaluate the financial aid offers that you receive. It is important to compare the offers you receive and make sure that you understand what each university is offering in their financial aid package.
12. If you are able, visit the campuses of the universities you are interested in attending and participate in the admitted student receptions/events the universities offer prior to the May 1st deadline.
13. When you receive your offers of admission, do research once again about the programs, the social scene, and life at the university for each of the universities so you can assess which one will be best suited to meet your needs. Your perspective on what you need and what you would like from your university experience may have changed since you started the application process, so it is important to weigh your options carefully.

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